Texas A&M
Kansas State
Aggie Riders Ice Kansas State at Big 12 Championship
Mar 28, 2009 | Equestrian
March 28, 2009
STILLWATER, Okla. - The Texas A&M equestrian team captured third place at the inaugural Big 12 Championship with a strong 12-4 victory against Kansas State inside Animal Science Arena on a cold and snowy Saturday.
The Aggie hunter squad was unstoppable against the Wildcats, earning an 8-0 sweep. A&M's western squad came out on the high side of a 4-4 tie, improving the unit to 11-1 on the season.
"The English team really stepped up and pulled out a solid sweep for us," A&M head coach Tana McKay said. "The western team fought tooth and nail and it ended up in our favor. This was a good show for us. I think it was great preparation with us having two long days to get us prepared for a three-day run at nationals in a few weeks."
Senior Erin Ivy (Cypress, Texas) captured her first MVP award of the season over fences in a 161-157 shootout with Kansas State senior Whitney Snyder. Junior Kristi Waldal (Battle Ground, Wash.) made it a perfect 2-0 at the Big 12 show thanks to a 157-140 win over Wildcat Kendall Marvin. Junior co-captain Lindsay Smith (West Friendship, Md.) and sophomore Brooke Coleman (Houston) scored the Aggies' biggest fences wins of the day, beating Leslie Yates and Ashley Collett, 145-120 and 154-129, respectively.
Senior Christina Matz (McKinney) won her fourth match in five tries with a 153-146 MVP-winning flat performance over Jenny Giraldin. Tegan Zealy (Tampa, Fla.) won her sixth-straight flat match thanks to a 155-122 triumph over Whitney Snyder. Junior Brittney Dodson and freshman Megan Webb both earned their third wins in four tries with 143-115 and 137-115 wins over Katie Mellon and Leslie Yates, respectively.
"The girls were solid today," A&M hunter seat coach Linzy Woolf said. "They knew what it would take to get those wins. They were bound and determined to get them no matter what. They had winning on their mind both days but were really out for it and wanted to redeem themselves today. This show was really good mental preparation for nationals."
The Aggies earned a 2-2 split in horsemanship with both Caroline Gunn (Greenburg, Ind.) and Katie Lisabeth (Canton, Ga.) winning for the second straight day. Gunn beat Jana Lechtenberg, 145.5-140.5, for her eighth win in nine tries while Lisabeth moved her freshman record to 7-3 with a 144.5-141.5 victory over Laura Browne.
A&M also split the reining matches against the Wildcats. Senior Amanda Ryan (Ramona, Calif.) completed a perfect Big 12 show with a 145-135.5 win over Kaylee Stout. Junior Maggie Gratny (Leavenworth, Kan.) topped Danielle Pettera, 134-126.5, to improve to 7-4-1 on the season.
In the championship match, host, and No. 3 seed, Oklahoma State won the inaugural Big 12 equestrian title over top-seeded Baylor, 11-5.
The Aggies will spend the most of the next three weeks preparing for the 2009 Varsity Equestrian National Championships scheduled for April 16-18 at the Heart of Texas Coliseum in Waco.
Players Mentioned
